


Run On for a Long Time

by BloodBagguettesBlood



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-13
Updated: 2018-01-13
Packaged: 2019-03-04 04:39:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 7
Words: 14,885
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13356681
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BloodBagguettesBlood/pseuds/BloodBagguettesBlood
Summary: Geoff Ramsay makes the toughest decisions in Los Santos, and now he's made the biggest mistake.





	1. Epilogue

“Whoever came up with this was an idiot!”

Ray and Michael were running towards the train tracks. It was Ray’s first big job with the AH Crew, the most notorious gang in all of Los Santos. His friend Michael invited him, but this job was about to take a turn for the worst. Maybe a few turns. Two cop cars pulled up behind them, the officers got out and opened fire.

“Ray, the train! Go!”

“Michael, we can both-”

“Go, dammit, go!” Michael took cover behind an abandoned truck, digging through his bag. He found the grenade he was looking for and blindly threw it at the cops. He heard an explosion but couldn’t stick his head out to see. He tapped on his earpiece.

“Jack, can you see me from where you are?”

Jack was in a cargobob, carrying the truck full of gold along with Ryan. Their job was to make sure the gold got to the train. On cue, Jack flew overhead, taking small arms fire from the police below.

“ _Whaddaya need, Michael?_ ”

“How far off am I with my throw?” he asked as he threw another grenade. He didn’t have many left. Another explosion, but the bullets kept coming.

“ _Guys, it’s Ray. I’m on the train. Geoff and Lindsay are here too._ ”

“Alright good. Turn on your GPS, I need to be able to follow you guys.” Jack answered. “Michael, you aren’t gonna be able to hit ‘em from there. Do you have Mogar?”

“No, if I did I would’ve used it by now.”

“ _Well why didn’t you bring it?_ ”

“Because it’s a fucking eighty-pound minigun and I’m running from cops, that’s why!”

Michael heard other sirens approaching, at least two more police cruisers. He had the feeling that not everyone was gonna make it out of this one.

“ _Don’t worry._ ” Ryan’s voice came on the radio. Michael looked up to see Ryan leaning his whole body out of the airborne truck, rocket launcher in hand. “ _I got these ones. Take cover, Michael!_ ”

Ryan let loose a rocket and hit the cops dead on. Debris flew all around Michael, forcing him to stay in his cover.

“Holy shit, Ryan! You fucking madman!” Michael yelled happily into the radio. He took off running the same way the train was headed.

“ _Michael, you want me to pick you up?_ ”

“No, Jack, get the gold to the train first. I’ll make my way, don’t worry.”

Back on the train, Geoff, Ray, and Lindsay were being followed by police helicopters, two of them.

“Why again are getting away on the train that I could keep up with on a bicycle?” Lindsay asked.

“Because fuck off, that’s why!” Geoff yelled back, firing at the choppers.  
Ray couldn’t do much, only having his marksman rifle, so he got in cover and stayed there while Geoff and Lindsay fired.

“Geoff,” Lindsay yelled over the sound of gunfire, “what do we do about these choppers?”

Geoff was blindly firing from behind the cover of an empty train car.

“I don’t fuckin’ know! Ray, see if you can take out one of the pilots!”

“From here!?”

“No, see if you can hit them from home, idiot!”

“Alright, damn.”

Ray took aim at the closest chopper. He took a shot at the pilot, but missed. The helicopter was weaving back and forth now, nearly impossible to hit.

“Geoff,” Ray took cover again, “can’t hit ‘em. We need some help, Ryan’s got the rockets. Jack, how far away are you?”

“ _About half a mile, but this chopper's seen better days. Be about two minutes._ ”

“Geoff, we got two minutes until Jack gets here.”

“We don’t have two fuckin’ minutes! Jack, hurry your ass up!”

Ray, grabbed one of the grenades from Lindsay’s bag and threw it at a helicopter. He got close enough to slow it down but, of course, he missed. The explosion was close enough to surprise Lindsay and Geoff on the train.

“Ray, what the fuck was that?”

“It was worth a shot. Michael, where are you?”

Michael was making his way across the city while keeping clear of cops. He ducked out of sight of a patrol car and snuck his way behind and around it.

“In hindsight, I should’ve taken that ride from Jack.”

“ _Michael, don’t do anything stupid._ ” Geoff said on the radio. “ _We gotta stay together, ok?_ ”

“You got it Geoff.”

“ _Guys._ ” a shrill, high-pitched British voice came on the radio. “ _I’m on my way to help!_ ”

Lindsay and Geoff started freaking out. They laid down flat on the floor of the train car.

“Wait, what’s going on?” Ray asked, still firing at the choppers. Overhead, though, a military chopper with a poorly spray painted Union Jack flew by and shot down the two cop helicopters. The burnt remains of the helicopters landed dangerously close to the train.

“Oh my god! Is that Gavin!?” Geoff yelled.

“ _You bet your arse that’s Gavin!_ ”

“Did he paint a flag on the side of it? What kind of stupid…”

“ _Yeah, get used to it, newbie._ ” Jack told Ray over the radio.

“Alright, but where the hell did he get the chopper? And the spray paint? What the _fuck_?”

“ _Michael, where are you, boy?_ ” Gavin asked over the radio.

“I’m by the trainyard, under the freeway. I’m turning on my GPS, follow it.”

Gavin took off to Michael and left the train team in the clear. Jack flew the helicopter over the empty train car. The truck was swinging back and forth, the timing had to be perfect. Ryan was in the truck below, trying to count off the swings.

"Jack, get it a little lower!"

Ryan saw another pair of police choppers coming from the city.

“Jack, fly me over to those choppers, we need to take ‘em out!”

"Gavin, where are you?” Ray asked as Jack and Ryan left for the choppers. “We need you and Michael here, we're almost out of this."

" _Copy that, Ray. I'm less than a mile from Michael. How's the LZ, boy?_ "

Michael was fighting off a few cop cars worth of police. The area was open and empty, perfect conditions for Gavin's flying. But it was getting dark, so they needed Gavin to fly for the smallest amount of time possible.

"Good as it’s gonna get. I see you, Gav. Popping flare."

Michael shot a red flare into the darkening sky. Geoff came on the radio from the train.

" _It's gonna be night soon, guys. The sooner we get Gavin out of the air the better._ "

As Gavin flew in to land, he started taking out cop cars.

“Hell yeah, boy! Clear ‘em out!”

“ _Alright, Michael, we’re all clear. Coming in to land._ ”

As he started landing, something caught Michael's eye. He couldn't make it out at first, but it was moving.

"Gav, you got visual at your 4 o'clock?"

" _Uhhhhh..._ "

"Behind you a little to the right."

A figure came out of cover, dressed in all black. They aimed a homing launcher at Gavin's helicopter.

"Gav! Bail out of the chopper!" Michael yelled into his radio, loud enough for Gav to hear without his radio.

The young Brit followed his friends orders and jumped. It was a good 15 feet drop. The figure fired their rocket and Michael shot at them, dropping them before the rocket hit the chopper. The explosion propelled Gavin downward faster than he would've fallen. Gavin bounced when he hit the ground, his head hitting the concrete the second time around. When he got up he was dazed and couldn't stand on his own.

"Fuck, Gavin! Gavin, you alright!?"

In the midst of the flaming debris, Gavin had the presence of mind to give thumbs up. Michael gestured for Gavin to sit over by an old truck. Michael walked over to the figure's body and clicked on his radio.

"Jack, we need a pickup right fucking now. Some asshole came out of nowhere, shot down the chopper, Gavin's hurt but he'll make it as long as you hurry."

" _Michael, it's Jack, the chopper's been bailed and torched. We have no way to get to you. Stay in position, we'll think of something._ "

Lindsay was calling Lester and making sure the cops weren't still on them. Geoff and Ray were brainstorming ideas to pick up the boys.

"Geoff." Ryan called out to his boss. "I'm goin' back for Michael!"

Ryan jumped off the train car and rolled over a couple times. He started running for the road as he tore off his mask, exposing his tribal face paint.

"Ryan, what are you- fuck! Michael, it's Lindsay, Ryan's coming back for you. Keep your GPS on and keep your head down."

Ryan stopped a motorcycle and commandeered it. He started making his way to Michael's location.

"Michael, it's Ryan, what's Gavin's status?"

" _He's pretty fucked up. Can't stand on his own but he's conscious._ "

"Alright Michael, here's what's gonna happen,” Ryan said into the radio as he sped off into the highway. “I'm gonna give you this motorcycle I’m on and you make your way back to base. I'll take Gavin and find another vehicle, me and him-."

" _What, no! We're in this together, remember?_ "

"Gavin can't keep himself on the back of a bike. Don't worry, just get back to base as fast as you can. I'm about four minutes out. I need you to call Lindsay, tell her I need overwatch, keep an eye on cops or anyone else."

"Ok, got it."

Michael was sitting in the trainyard with Gavin leaning on him. It was pitch black besides the street lights and the streets were emptier than usual.

"Babe, you there?" Michael said, checking the figure for anything identifying. It was a man, and he sure wasn't a cop.

" _Yeah._ " Lindsay answered. " _How are you two, what's the situation?_ "

"I'll explain it on the way home, but I need you to get to base quick and give Ryan overwatch. I'll be there in about ten minutes, Ryan and Gavin in twenty, tops."

Michael pulled out a piece of paper from the guy's jacket. He read it to himself and stuffed it into his pocket.

"I gotta tell Geoff when I get back home."

" _Ryan,_ " Geoff came on the radio again, " _you get that kid home safe, do you hear me?_ "

"Copy that, boss. Michael, I'm coming up on you and Gavin."

Ryan pulled over beside them and got off the bike. He handed Michael his helmet. Ryan's face paint was smudged with sweat and sprayed with blood.

"C'mere Gavin, let's find us a car."

Michael got on the motorcycle and started it up.

"Hey, don't worry, boy. You'll be home in no time. Ryan'll take good care of you."

Michael took off. Ryan used a rag to wipe off most of his face paint on their way down the street. Gavin was getting slower, tired, he needed to get home now.

“ _Ryan, how are you guys doing?_ ” Geoff asked. The concern in his voice was abundantly clear.

“Gavin’s getting tired. I’m trying to keep him conscious.”

They passed by an alley and Gavin stopped walking. Ryan tried to keep him moving but Gavin just groaned and stayed put.

“Dammit, Gavin, we gotta go.” Ryan said, pulling on Gavin’s arm. Gavin raised his arm and pointed down the alley. There was an old car parked a few yards away.

“Alright Gavin! Good job. Geoff, we found a car. We’ll be home in-”

Bright white lights switched on and blinded Ryan for a few seconds. Sirens and yelling came from all around the car. It was a police ambush. As soon as Ryan collected himself, he turned on his GPS and earpiece.

“Get on the ground!” one of the cops yelled, approaching the two.

“He can’t stand on his own, he needs a hospital. He needs help. I’d think even the Los Santos PD would see that.”

The police sergeant looked at Gavin and ordered the other cops to back down. He kept his gun on them, though.

“We’re going to bring an ambulance here. Neither of you are gonna move until it gets here. Got it?”

“Alright. But hurry it up. He’s not looking good.”

“Ryan,” Gavin whispered hoarsely, “I thought you said I was gonna make it.”

“Yes, but the cops don’t know that. The guys will be here in a bit, just stay calm.”

The ambulance pulled into the open alleyway a few minutes later. Ryan and Gavin were being escorted to it when it was suddenly a cargobob dropped a large, blue, pulsating device into the alleyway.

“What the-” one of the cops yelled as he was almost crushed by the device.

“It’s an EMP!” the sergeant yelled. Just then, it went off and all the lights in the alley went out. Through the darkness, Ryan could make out a familiar noise: the sound of a car being stuck with a sticky bomb. Before anyone could do anything, every police cruiser in the alley was being stuck with explosives. A bright light came from the entrance where Ryan and Gavin came in It was from one of Michael’s trucks. He walked in brandishing Mogar, a large, intimidating minigun with its name scratched into the side. It was his prized possession.

“Alright, boys,” Geoff yelled to everyone who could hear him, “let’s go to work”.

He and the rest of the AH Crew rappelled down from the buildings around them. Ryan noticed Ray was missing.

“I gotta say, props to the LSPD. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think I planned this ambush.”

“Is that...it’s Ramsey!”

“Ok, alright, I’ll sign your boobs later. Let’s get down to business.”

Geoff snapped his fingers and all of them pulled out a detonator. All of the police pulled out their weapons.

“Here’s what’s gonna happen, fellas.” Geoff started pacing around the police officers, making his way over to Gavin and Ryan. The rest of the crew followed. 

“You shoot any one of us, the rest will blow us all to bits. You let our guys go and walk away, the bombs will disarm and you all get to go home, fuck your wives, beat your kids, we all get a happy ending.”

The sergeant walked towards Geoff. He holstered his gun and ordered his men to stand down again.

“I knew I recognized your voice. Well, the mustache more than anything. Ramsey…” the cop reached out his hand to Geoff’s and Geoff remembered him.

“You’re the cop from my prison break!” Geoff turned to the crew. “We paid him off to let me out of my cell at Bolingbroke. So what about it? Let my guys go, I’d hate to have to blow you up after all you’ve done for me.”

The sergeant looked back to his men. Then at Gavin and Ryan, waiting for a decision to be made.

“Look, Ramsey, I can give you one of your guys.”

“That’s bullshit!” Michael yelled from behind Geoff. He started spinning up Mogar. Geoff called him off.

“Let’s work something out.”

Geoff slyly pointed the rooftop out to Michael. He looked up and saw Ray on the roof. He was setting up on the sergeant. Michael turned away Mogar.

“What harm would two missing thugs do that one missing thug wouldn’t?”

“You get one, Ramsey.” The sergeant was trying to look tough for his fellow officers.

“Alright. The kid.”

“What?”

“Ryan…” Geoff looked into his eyes. They were angry. “...he’s like a son to me, Ryan.”

“Well, in that case,” the sergeant pointed to Gavin, “kill the kid.”

“Ray…” Geoff said nothing but his name. Before he could say anything else, Ray took the shot. Direct hit to the head. Michael unloaded into the alley, covering Gavin and Ryan’s escape.

“Gavin, come on! Ryan, let’s go!”

Ryan was carrying Gavin in his arms and running for the crew. He could see Michael’s truck in the street. In all the confusion, Ryan looked back to check for Ray. Instead, he saw an officer with a clear shot at Geoff. He dropped Gavin down and threw Geoff out of the way. He took the bullet for his boss.

“Ryan!” Ray yelled from the rooftop.

“Michael,” Geoff yelled from behind cover, “take out these cops!”

Michael did a clean sweep of the whole alley. No cops were left after just a few seconds against Mogar. Geoff walked over to Ryan, bleeding out in the alley.

“Geoff, this is bad. Help me up.”

But Geoff just stood over him, looking very serious and angry.

“Michael,” Geoff said, not breaking his gaze on Ryan, “what was it you told me on your way home?”

Michael walked over to Ryan, and handed something to Geoff. It was the paper from the man that shot down Gavin’s helicopter.

“Well, this seems to be a hit order from Merryweather. Somebody wants a certain ‘James R. Haywood’ out of their way.”

Ryan looked into Geoff's eyes, hoping for a hint of remorse.

“Geoff, I-”

“Oh, and what’s this? The password to our secure network? The one that we use for our communications and GPS?”

“Geoff- agh- listen to me…”

“Looks like you’ve got some angry ex-coworkers.”

Remorse was nowhere to be found. Geoff knelt down next to Ryan, forcing him to reel himself back.

“They found us because of you, _James_. They almost killed Gavin because of you, _James._ ” Geoff told everyone to go back to the car. Ray was talking to Michael about what was going on, trying to get to Ryan.

“I need to keep this crew...this family, safe. That’s why I need to get rid of you, _James._ ”

“Geoff, we can fix this...pull a job on Merryweather...get their files on us.”

Geoff armed his detonator. The sticky bombs started flashing.

“Don’t worry, Ryan, there’s an upside to all of this. I can go collect the bounty on your head.”

“Geoff, please. I swear... 

“You’ll be funding our next big job.”

Geoff started on his way to the truck.

“Geoff...please!” Ryan turned to Michael as he turned away. “Michael, we stick together...don’t you remember!? Geoff, please!”

He didn’t care for Ryan’s cries for help. He pressed the button on the detonator. Ryan’s last scream for his boss was mixed with the explosions. Geoff got in the passenger seat of the truck and gestured for Michael to drive.

“Lindsay, call Lester. Give him the lowdown, we need those Merryweather files gone. Have him set it up.”

Ray and Jack were with Lindsay and Gavin in the back. Ray looked back to the smoke coming from the alley.

“What the hell did Michael get me into?”

“Ray, look…”

“Save it, Jack.”

Ray’s first job with the AH Crew was one to remember. His new life was a gamble every day from now on.

“Did...did he have family?”

Jack turned to Ray. He realized that Ray, amongst the group, was just a kid.

“No, nobody but us.”

“And then we go and do that to him? Some family we are.”

“Look, it wasn’t us. Geoff _had_ to-”

“Well we let him do it. And that’s as good as pushing the button ourselves.”

It was a long drive home that night.


	2. Long Tongue Liar

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Fakes' darkest hour comes back to haunt them.

Michael pulled into Geoff's apartment building, the AH Crew hideout. As soon as the truck stopped inside the garage, Ray got off and headed for his motorcycle. He mounted it and reached for the throttle, when a hand stopped him. He recognized it as Geoff's, the brick tattoo gave it away.

"Ray..."

He stood up and went inside the apartment, throwing his helmet across the room. He was followed by Geoff, who told the others to hang back.

"Look, Ray, I know you don't understand-"

"I understand just fine." Ray replied with a furious tone that matched his expression. "Ryan was putting the Crew in danger. Or maybe just your bratty British ‘son’. Maybe you just wanted more for yourself."

Geoff was trying to be sympathetic, but Ray's angry tone changed his mind. He grabbed Ray by the arm and spun him around to face him.

"You are not in charge here. If not Ryan, it would've been all of us." Geoff threw his arm away. "Every time we go out there, I have your lives in my hands. How do you think you'd do?"

Ray stepped up to Geoff, face-to-face.

"I can't do anything about what you did..." Ray was staring a hole in Geoff's face and Geoff did the same. "...but I don't have to like it."

Ray took off into the garage. The rest of the crew was waiting. Ray ignored them and got on his motorcycle. As he started it up, he exchanged a look with Michael. For a split second Michael saw through the anger and saw how sad Ray really was. Ray rode off without a word.

"Do you think he'll go back to the alley?" Jack asked to the group.

"He better fuckin' not." Michael said, also hiding behind anger. "Gav, how you doing?"

Gavin was leaning back on a counter, taking a swig of some whiskey and giving a thumbs up.

Geoff walked back into the garage, also wanting to check up on Gavin.

"Lindsay, what's the deal with Merryweather?" Geoff asked, checking on Gavin's bruises.

"Lester's got a team about to pull a job on their HQ, he's having them get the files."

"Well well well, looks like we aren't the only ones pulling jobs in Los Santos. Ray left?"

Lindsay nodded. She gave a concerned look to Michael that Geoff noticed.

"Michael, buddy. Your friend did good out there tonight. I think he has a place here with us."

Michael was conflicted about this whole situation. Ryan was as loyal as any of them, but he saw the document from Merryweather. He was a danger to the crew.

"I'm gonna go check on him." He turned to Lindsay and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "I'll be home later."

Lindsay gave him a hug back and he got in his truck. He drove off after his friend.

Michael found Ray not a block away from the apartment, sitting on the sidewalk. His motorcycle was on its side.

“Are you ok?”

“He wasn’t a danger to us.”

“Ray…”

“He saved your life today! He’s saved your lives so many times. And this is how we’re repaying his trust. With straight-up murder.”

“Ryan was good to us, yeah. But he let us get found. Gavin was almost-”

Ray stood up and pushed Michael out of the way.

“If I have to hear one more word about that kid, I’m gonna blow his fucking head off.”

Ray picked up his motorcycle and rode off. Away from it all. He didn’t see the crew outside of a job for months. He didn’t want to. Almost a year went by. Geoff’s plans we’re becoming more risky and less rewarding. Ray was called in for what Geoff said would be their last heist.

“I wanted to tell you first.”

"What? Why?"

“Because I trust your judgment. You have the crew’s safety in mind before anything else. I want you to agree before anyone else does.”

Ray stood in Geoff’s planning room. He didn’t want to be here.

“Why the last heist? Why now?”

"I'm surprised you care, Ray." Geoff and Ray never really had the most professional relationship. "The crew has outlived its effectiveness. We're spending more money than were making, running out of places to hit."

"So where are we doing it then?"

Geoff walked Ray into his planning room. He had a map of the city with marks and post-it notes on it.

"Here." He pointed at a circled spot on the map. "Trojan Bar."

Ray quickly looked over the plan written out on the whiteboard. He was only looking for his parts.

"So, plant bombs, detonate, get to the bridge, get to the plane."

"That's it, man. Short and sweet."

Ray took a hard look at Geoff. He could see how desperate he was to stay in the game or go out with a bang. He took pity on his boss.

"I'll be there."

Geoff walked Ray into the garage to his bike.

"After this, though," Ray said, "I never want to see you again."

Ray rode out onto the street and looked back to the building. If he cared at all for this place, he would've felt a strong sense of nostalgia. What he felt instead was heat and a shockwave because before he could think about this place any more, explosions went off in the building, the floor of Geoff’s apartment.

"Geoff!" Ray screamed as he rushed for the burning building. He ran up the stairs as fast as he could and kicked down the door to the apartment, rushing in. Geoff was in the kitchen on the ground, three bullet holes in his chest.

"He had it coming."

Ray wasn't surprised at the man in the apartment as much as he was angry at what he said. He was wearing a blue and black leather jacket and a dark skull mask.

"Who the hell do you think you are?"

"Oh I'm just a concerned citizen who felt Ramsey's death would save the city. After all, if not him..." the masked man pulled out a detonator, "...it would've been all of us."

Ray's eyes widened when he said that, he knew exactly who this was and why he was here. Before he could say anything, the man was shot in the chest and fell over. Ray turned around and saw Geoff with his pistol in hand.

"Geoff!"

"I knew all -agh- along."

Ray picked Geoff up and walked through the burning apartment building to the door.

“Geoff, stay with me. Let’s get you to a hospital.”

Ray put Geoff in the passenger seat of one of Geoff’s cars and started driving off. He looked back to the apartment and saw another explosion go off as fire trucks and ambulances pulled up. Ray took out his cell phone and dialed for Michael.

“ _Ray, what’s-_ ”

“Geoff’s been shot.”

“ _What the hell? Where?_ ”

“Uhh…”

Ray turned to Geoff, shaking him to keep him awake.

“Three times in the chest.”

“ _I meant where was he._ ”

“His apartment. Michael, I need you to gather your things and meet me at Central Los Santos Medical.”

“ _You’re taking him to a hospital?_ ”

“Our next big hit.”

Michael understood what he meant. He walked over to his window, trying to see the smoke from Geoff’s apartment.

“Alright. A bit last minute, but I’ll make it happen.”

“And Michael?”

“Yeah.” Michael said, pausing while putting his shoes on.

“ _Don’t tell Gavin. Don’t tell anyone. Hopefully we won’t have to tell them until it’s all over with._ ”

“Sure thing. Be there in ten.”

Michael hung up and walked over to his closet to get dressed. His wife, Lindsay, woke up from all the commotion he was making.

“Babe...what’s wrong?” she asked in a groggy voice.

“Geoff was-” he didn’t know if he should tell her yet. “Geoff...was...just on the phone. Me, him, and Ray, we’re gonna go...steal some shit.”

“Ray?” Lindsay asked, still yawning. “I thought…”

“Well, we’re trying to fix things with them. Hopefully, by the end of tonight, they’ll both be alright.”

Lindsay looked at her husband for a second or two before flopping herself back over on the bed. “Alright. Don’t get in too much trouble.” she said from under the covers.

“I’m more worried about Geoff.”

They met up at the hospital with whatever masks and guns they could muster up at the last second. Ray was already there with Geoff but, much to Michael’s distress, he was sitting on the hood of the car with Geoff in his arms. Michael pulled up just as Ray was holding their boss.

“Geoff!” he yelled.

Geoff turned his head weakly as he ran up to the car.

“Michael...hey, bud...buddy…”

“Geoff, you aren’t going to die ok? Ok?”

Footsteps approaching made them both turn and draw their weapons. Civilians around them started running and calling the police.

“He really is, you know.” said the masked man. “This man is a liar and a fraud.”

Michael looked past the mask and into the man’s eyes.

“Is...it’s not…”

“It’s Ryan.” Ray said, matter-of-factly, already drawing a gun on him. “I don’t know how but...it’s him.”

“He never cared about any of us! Except for his British brat!”

“Fuck you, Ryan!” Michael yelled, raising his rifle. “He’s pulled your ass from the fire more times than you could count.”

“And how many of those fires were his? How often did he disregard us, only to favor his money and his booze and his surrogate son?”

“Look,” Ray shouted over the two of them, “we’re all friends here. We’re supposed to be a family.” Ray gave a short glance back to Geoff, making sure he was still breathing. He put his gun down on the hood of the car.

“Ray, what are you doing?” Michael asked him under his breath.

“Ryan, please, stop this now before any of us get hurt.”

“Any more of us.” Geoff added.

Ryan looked at Ray intensely. Then at Michael, then Geoff. He sighed as he started putting his hands behind his head. As soon as Michael lowered his weapon, however, Ryan pulled out two tasers and shot them at Ray and Michael. They all fell to the ground, and Geoff let out a low groan as he hit the pavement.

“You two expect so little to stop me.” He walked over to Geoff, who was reaching for Ray’s gun. It was just out of his reach. Ryan calmly approached and slid the gun under the car. He grabbed Geoff by the throat and held him up above the car.

“You played chess with our lives for years, you old fool. You sacrificed your knight, and for what? To protect your favorite pawn.”

“What, did...did you practice this...in the mirror?” Geoff worked out, giving a smirk.

Ryan punched Geoff in the chest, where he was shot, then held him up again.

“You think you’re still the king? You’re one of my pawns now.”

“Ryan!” Ray yelled, unable to move next to Michael, who was unconscious now. “You d...don’t have to...to do this.”

Ryan threw Geoff on the ground next to Ray. He pulled out a dark red pistol.

“Well, that never stopped us before, has it?” Ryan stood there, gun aimed at Geoff who was half gone already, laughing. Crazy, cracked-voice, blissful laughter. “Never stopped him, anyway.”

He took one shot. Direct hit. Blood sprayed onto Ray’s face. Ryan turned silent. He leaned into Ray, who was able to move now.

“Tonight will be the last night any of you live.”

“Fuck...you…” Michael said, eyes not even open yet, “...bastard.”

“Well, Michael. What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be at home?” Ryan leaned right up to Michael’s face. “With your wife.”

Ryan left without another word, walking off into the night.

Ray stood up and checked on Michael. He didn’t even bother to check Geoff.

“Ray...Lindsay…”

Police sirens were approaching. Ray was trying to pick Michael up, but he was too heavy.

“Ray- agh- go!”

“Michael, we can both-”

“Don’t make me fucking say it again. Lindsay...please.”

Ray could hear the police a few blocks away.

“No.” Ray said to himself. He lifted Michael and walked towards the car he came here in. “I’m not gonna leave you behind again.”

Ray put Michael into the car then walked to the truck. He found a leather bound book, the latest novel that Geoff was losing himself in. He took it from the back seat and tucked under into Geoff's arm.

“Alright, Geoff. Have a good one.”

Ray walked back to the car. Michael was watching him from the passenger seat.

“Ray…”

“Lindsay. We gotta hurry.”

Michael wanted to say something helpful, but it wouldn’t have made any difference. Ray was so full of anger, and he knew it. He didn’t want to feel anything else. He wanted to use the anger as a weapon. He drove off to Michael’s house, silent as he ever was.


	3. What's Done in the Dark

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Geoff and the Fakes learn to fear the Vagabond, he's going to make them.

Ray didn’t speak at all on the way to Michael’s house. Michael, though, went on about his wife being home alone. Ray was only thinking of one thing: Ryan. Ray didn’t know him for long before he was apparently killed, but he trusted him. He had to, with the work they were doing.

“Does Lindsay have any guns in the apartment?”

“Uh...yes. I think so.”

“Good. She has a chance to protect herself.”

Ray pulled up to the front of the apartment, almost running over a group of people.

“Michael, go. I’ll stay here in case we Ryan shows up.”

“Kay.” Michael said as he ran for the building, readying his weapon.

Michael ran for an elevator and pressed the button on the wall frantically before looking up to read the “Out of Order” sign. He let out a “Dammit.” as he ran for the stairs. He pulled out his phone and called Lindsay.

“C’mon, c’mon, pick up, pick up, pick up…”

“ _Michael?_ ”

“Lindsay, get up, you’re in danger.”

“ _What’s going on?_ ”

“ _I’m on my way up, I’ll explain then. Just get up and get a gun and be ready to fight. Don’t open the door unless it’s me._ ”

“Got it.”

Lindsay got up and got her handgun, hidden between the mattresses. She looked out the window for anything suspicious. She saw Geoff’s car parked below. This gave her a false sense of relief. There was a knock on the door, and she turned and aimed.

“Lindsay, it’s me.” Michael said from behind the door. Michael rushed in and checked the whole apartment while Lindsay was asking what’s going on. Michael finished searching and turned to her.

“I told you to get ready to fight.”

“I am ready, see?” she said, gesturing to her gun.

“Oh, yes, I’m sure you could’ve handled any attack in your underwear.”

“Damn right I could, don’t yell at me. What the hell is going on?”

Michael calmed down and sat on his couch. He was still worked up about all that’s been happening.

“I’m sorry for yelling. I was scared.”

Lindsay sat next to him. She could tell by his tone of voice how serious this was.

“You...didn’t go out for drinks, did you?”

Michael tried to hide tears from her, standing up and pacing the room. He had no idea how to handle what was going on.

“Geoff was...he got…”

He didn’t finish saying it. He didn’t have to.

“No…” Lindsay said, still on the couch.

“That’s not all.” He said as he walked over to her. He wiped tears from his face. “It was Ryan that did it.”

“Ryan? But...he’s-”

“I know. Ray was the first to find out. He’s outside waiting for him.”

“Waiting?”

Michael was still pacing. He looked nervous, not that it was abnormal, considering the situation.

“Lindsay, I need you to understand...he was going to kill you.”

“Yeah, I get that much”

“No. I want you to remember that. The only thing I want is for you to be safe.”

Lindsay nodded and Michael continued pacing.

“He killed Geoff...he was gonna kill you…”

“It’s ok, Michael. I’m here, I’m ok.” She walked over to him and took his hand. “Right now what we need to do is get everyone ready. How’s Ray?”

“He’s...he’s alright. Hold on.” he said as he called Ray.

“Ray, any sign of him?”

“ _No, we’re clear. Is Lindsay ok?_ ”

“Yeah, she’s fine. But if he’s not here he’s going after someone else. Who would he target after Geoff?”

Nobody answered. Lindsay broke the silence.

“His favorite.”

“Gavin! Ray, go find Gavin. Me and Lindsay will catch up. I’m gonna get a few things ready.”

“ _You gonna get Mogar?_ ”

“I’m gonna have to. There’s no telling what Ryan’s gonna send our way. Now hurry up.”

Ray hung up, already driving away. He started dialing Gavin’s number. It rang for a while then went to voicemail.

“Dammit, Gav, answer your damn phone.”

He dialed again and got an answer this time.

“ _Ay! It’s X-Ray! What’s up, lad?_ ”

“Gavin, where are you?”

“ _Having some drinks with a few friends. You gotta see this, there’s a bloke with pink hair, mental!_ ”

“Ok, where are you?”

“ _Oh, you wanna join? Hold on. Hey man, what’s the name of this place?_ ”

Ray was waiting for an answer when he was almost hit head-on by a jeep. He swerved and came to a stop. He saw who it was: Pegasus mercenaries.

“God damn it. Gavin, hurry up!”

“ _What? No, no I don’t want to buy a boat. What’s this place called though? Hold on, Ray._ ”

Ray took off down the road with the mercenaries right behind him. They were shooting at him and there wasn’t much room to move around.

“Gavin, just turn on your GPS!”

“ _OK, jeez. Don’t gotta shout. There. I’ll see you in-_ ”

Ray hung up. He needed to deal with the mercenaries. He tried losing them but they were too close. He was blindly firing behind him as he drove, and managed to get one of them. He kept shooting until his gun clicked, empty. He dug through the glove box of the car, hoping to find something helpful.

“There’s gotta be something here I can use.”

He felt what he thought was a gun. He grabbed for it as he sped down the roads of downtown Los Santos.

“Aha!”

He pulled out Geoff’s flare gun and disappointedly stared at it for a second. He snapped out of it and decided it was his best bet.

“Fuck it!” he yelled and fired into the jeep. The flare managed to land inside the jeep, starting a small fire.

“Yes!”

The jeep swerved and crashed into oncoming traffic as Ray sped off towards Gavin’s GPS signal. He found him walking away from a bar, stumbling down the street. Ray pulled up next to him and rolled down the window.

“Gavin, get in.”

“Raaay! What’s goi-”

“Get in the car, there’s big things happening you need to know about.”

Gavin wasn’t listening. He ignored Ray and instead tried drinking out of his empty bottle, making a disgusted face when nothing came out. Ray got out of the car, watching for any more mercenaries. He took Gavin by the shoulders and shook him, nearly throwing him over.

“You need to come with me, we’re all in danger. We need to get somewhere…”

Ray stopped. He turned and looked all around him. The streets were completely empty. No cars, no people, just Gavin and him alone in the city.

“Gavin. Car. Now.”

A faint noise broke the eerie silence of the city. It resembled the sound of a shaken up can of soda being opened. Gavin was still too drunk to notice, but Ray was looking all around. Then he saw the source of the noise: it was a rocket being fired, headed right for them.

“Gavin, move!” Ray yelled as he grabbed him and jumped away from the car. The rocket hit a moment after they hit the ground. Gavin was sobered up immediately, getting to his feet and running for cover. But as he ran he was shot in the leg.

“Bloody hell!”

“Gavin! Hold on!”

Ray ran to him and tried to walk him to cover, but he was stopped by Ryan.

“Not so fast.” he said, then audibly loaded his gun. Ray turned to face him, still holding Gavin. Ryan’s eyes behind the mask were calm, but they had purpose. They had anger.

“Put down the Brit and I’ll let you walk away.”

“Why?” Ray asked. Gavin gave him a confused look. “So far, I’ve been there every time you’ve killed one of us but you never killed me. Why?”

Ryan shot ray in the shoulder. He walked to him and stood over his body.

“Good point. If you aren’t dead, you will be soon.” 

Ryan walked towards Gavin with his gun down. He dropped it on the ground. He grabbed him by the front of his purple dress shirt and lifted him off his feet.

“You were always the favorite. Geoff favored you, and you knew it.”

Gavin wasn’t trying to break free. He’d already accepted that he probably wasn’t going to survive the night.

“I bet he’ll be happy to see you.” Ryan said as he pulled out a knife. “Tell him I said hi.”

“Tell him yourself you bastard.” Gavin said with gusto.

Ryan took a second to react. It was shocking.

“Getting a little overzealous, aren’t we?”

“No. He is.”

Ryan turned around and saw Michael, Lindsay standing behind him. He was holding Mogar, spinning it up.

“Drop the dumbass, Ryan.”  
“Ryan? I thought you were dea-ack!” Ryan squeezed his throat to get him quiet.

“If you use that thing...you could kill him.”

“You’ll kill him anyway. Now drop him.”

Ryan turned to face Michael, holding Gavin as a hostage with a knife to his throat. There was no noise on the streets. Only Mogar spinning and Gavin struggling.

“You think you can hit me and not him? Go ahead.”

Michael slowly started for the trigger, confident in his skill with his weapon. He never had to fire though, because that was when Ray knocked him out with the gun he dropped. Ryan fell forward, landing on Gavin.

“Ray!” Lindsay shouted, running to give him a hug.

“Lindsay. I’m glad you’re ok.”

“Yeah, happy moment, can someone get him off me!”

Michael rolled Ryan over and helped Gavin up.

“Have you called Jack yet?” Ray asked Lindsay.

“No. I’ll call him now.” She walked off to the side and pulled out her phone.

“Michael, you showed up just in time. Ryan’s lost it. I thought he was dead. He was…” All of a sudden he stopped. He just stopped and stared off into nothing.

“Gavin?” Ray was walking towards him.

“Tell him I said hi.”

“What?”

“That’s what he said. About Geoff.” Gavin looked Ray in the eyes with a vulnerable stare. “Is...is Geoff…”

Ray put his hand on Gavin’s shoulder, but he pushed it away. He grabbed Ryan’s gun from Ray’s hand and shoved him to the floor.

“YOU SON OF A BITCH!” he yelled as he hobbled towards Ryan’s unconscious body.

“Gavin, wait…”

“Why should I, Michael? Give me one reason why I shouldn’t.”

“We can’t stoop to his level.”

“Yes, because we’re such model citizens. How many people have you killed, Michael? How many fathers, brothers, sons have you taken away? How many times did you not have to kill someone but you did it anyway?”

Michael was getting angry, but Gavin got him thinking.

“Of anybody we’ve ever come across, he deserves it the most. Why should I not kill him now?”

“Do you think this is what Geoff would want?”

“Damn right it is!”

Out of nowhere, Ray came from behind and punched Gavin in the face.

“Will you shut up already! Here’s what we do, we take him to one of our safe-houses and get him to talk. Once we have the information...you can kill him.”

Gavin didn’t respond. He didn’t even move.

“Gavin?”

Michael shook him a little bit.

“Great. You fuckin’ knocked him out. Now what?”

As soon as Michael said that, a helicopter flew in over the street. Michael started spinning up Mogar when Lindsay stopped him.

“No, Michael, it’s Jack.”

Michael looked in the cockpit and saw Jack waving to everyone.

“Oh, so you just didn’t bother telling us Jack was on his way in a helicopter?”

“You looked busy.”

Michael looked into Lindsay’s eyes angrily. The two of them kissed in the middle of the street.

“Idiot.”

“Piece of shit.” and they kissed again. Ray, however, was carrying Gavin into the helicopter.

“No, don’t help, it’s not like I was shot or anything. I’ll carry the two grown men into the helicopter.”

“Cool, thanks Ray.”

“Fuck you.”

Jack landed the chopper and got out. He went to help Ray with Gavin.

“Jack, Ryan, he-”

“Explain later.” He said as he took Gavin. “Get in the chopper and wait. I’ll patch you up when we get home.”

“Where are we going?”

“Safe-house by Del Perro. Hurry up.”

Ray got in the chopper and waited for Jack to get Ryan and Gavin strapped in. Ryan was in handcuffs as well. Once Michael and Lindsay were in, Jack took off and headed for the safe-house.


	4. The Rambler, The Gambler

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Fakes start to thin out, and Ray starts wondering exactly what the Vagabond's motives are.

“How’s Gavin?” Lindsay asked from the front seat. Michael checked him.

“He’s waking up. He’ll be fine. Ray, you really got him good.”

“He was gonna kill Ryan.”

“Good.”

Ray shot him an irritated look. He took off Ryan’s mask and put it down on the seat.

“Uhh...what’re you doing?”

“Checking him. For...wounds and stuff.”

Michael watched Ray feeling his face and shoulders.

“Sure. Wounds.” Ray didn’t react. “Ray. Ray!”

“Huh, what?”

“You know what he did right? What happened to him? Why he’s doing this?”

“Do you? Look what happened to him. He was betrayed by us, his only friends, his only family. Geoff tried to kill him. you don’t think you’d do the same?.”

“I just want Lindsay safe, ok? I don’t care about that betrayal bullshit or whatever.”

Most of the rest of the ride was silent. Ray watched the city below him, people and cars all moving past each other. He was so conflicted about Ryan, how he felt about him and what he did. He didn’t blame him for it, but he killed Geoff. He looked at Ryan sitting unconscious across from him. 

I didn’t like Geoff too much anyway.

Ryan woke up over downtown Los Santos. He saw his mask on the seat next to him. He quickly reached for it and jerked his wrists in the handcuffs. Michael, sat across from him, saw he was awake. Ryan was still reaching for the mask.

“Well, look who’s awake.”

Ryan ignored him, or didn’t hear him. Either way he was trying his hardest to get his mask back.

“Ray,” Michael said, “lemme see that mask.”

Ray handed Michael the mask while Ryan followed it with his head. His eyes locked onto it, like an animal trying to catch its prey. Michael put on the mask and showed Ray and Gavin, who were in the back with him.

“Oh, look at me, I’m Ryan. Ooh-ooh!” He was waving his hands around as he mocked Ryan, who was watching him with a sort of violated anger.

“Careful, Michael.” Gavin cut in, wanting to get in on the jokes. “You might catch his crazy!” He was half laughing, half cringing in pain from his fresh gunshot wound.

In the middle of the other lads’ laughter, Ray just looked at Ryan’s face. It was burned up on the left side. The light from the rising sun let Ray see the detail in his darkened, leathery skin. He had his old face paint tattooed onto the healthy skin. The scars almost blended into the tattoo around his left cheek. His left eye was wide open because some of his eyelids were singed off in the explosion. That, plus him using all his strength to go for the mask, it was the first time Ray saw Ryan as truly insane.

“Give me that.” Ray said as he pulled the mask off Michael’s head. This left Michael’s hair disheveled and messy.

“Woah, Ray, what the hell!”

Michael fixed his hair while Ray fixed the mask up and held it so he could see the face. He looked up at Ryan. He wasn’t angry with Ray. His expression was softer, sadder. He felt powerless.

“Aww, is the baby gonna cry?” Gavin said in a mocking tone.

“Shut up, he fucking shot you.” Ray said without even looking at him. He held out the mask to Ryan and he gave Ray an unsatisfied look.

“Oh, right.”

Ray grabbed a handle for leverage and stood up. He sat in the seat next to Ryan and put the mask on him.

“You two want a room?”

“Michael…”

Before he could reply, Ryan broke the handcuffs and put Ray in a chokehold. Michael pulled his gun on him. 

“What the hell is going on back there?” Lindsay yelled from the front seat.

“Ryan’s got Ray!” Gavin yelled back.

Ryan knew he was too close for Michael to miss. He let Ray go and sat back in seat, putting his hands up.

“You really don’t know when to quit, do you?”

Ray got up and went to sit down in his other seat, but Ryan kicked him into Michael. He fired once out the window before Ryan wrestled the gun from his hands. He now had Michael, Gavin, and Ray with their hands up.

“Jack, stop the chopper.” Ray yelled out.

“Oh, no, Jack.” Ryan said. “Keep doing what you’re doing.”

With that, he fired once into the cockpit. The inside of the helicopter’s windshield was splattered with blood as Jack yelled in pain. Lindsay reached over for the controls. The chopper started spinning and losing altitude. Ryan grabbed a parachute and opened the helicopter door. Michael saw him and tried to get the parachute. In all the confusion and disorientation, they both fell out of the chopper.

“Michael! Ryan!” Ray yelled. He tried to look and see what was going on, but the helicopter was spinning too fast. Ray saw the parachute open but he couldn’t see who opened it.

“Gavin!” Jack yelled from the pilot seat. “They’re gonna make it!”

“They!?” Gavin yelled, fear in his voice. Jack leaned over and looked into Gavin’s eyes.

“They...are going to make it.”

Gavin saw Jack motioning to a parachute. Gavin nodded. He grabbed a parachute and so did Jack. Jack handed his to Lindsay and Gavin gave his to Ray.

“Gavin, what-”

“Have a good one. Cheers, lad!”

Gavin shoved Ray out of the helicopter with the parachute in his hands. Jack did the same to Lindsay. It was now just Jack and Gavin, both wounded, in a helicopter that’s going down. Gavin climbed into the front seat, next to Jack. A blanket of calm fell over the two of them. They both knew what was coming and they both knew it would be quick.

“Hey...Jack.”

“Yeah, Gavin?”

He took a pause. This was the last thing he would say to him, so he wanted to make it significant. In the end, he improvised.

“Yo-you were alright Jack.”

It worked out about as well as it could have, considering it was Gavin. He made Jack smirk. Gavin gave a little chuckle.

“Yeah...You were kind of a dick.”

Gavin started laughing. Jack knew he would. This way he wouldn’t see it coming.

 

Lindsay was still trying to get her parachute on when the helicopter hit the Maze Bank tower. She couldn’t take any time to take it in because she was falling fast. She saw Ray’s parachute open. She finally got the chute on and opened it up.

Ray landed and immediately ran off to find Michael and Ryan. He already saw the helicopter, but he had more important things to tend to. He waited for Lindsay to land.

“Are you ok?”

Lindsay didn’t answer.

“Lindsay, please…” Ray reached for her shoulder. She shook him off and pulled out her gun.

“Let’s go find my husband.”


	5. My Heart Stood Still

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Vagabond's plan is put into motion, but Ray and Michael have a plan of their own.

It was daytime now. The sun was up, people were out and about. If Ryan landed anywhere nearby, he was long gone by now. Ray and Lindsay heard the ambulances and fire trucks that were called in for a crashed helicopter in the middle of the city. They walked around a block or two before deciding to give up.

“Lindsay, we aren’t gonna find him this way. We should get home, get ourselves together…”

“He has Michael. I’m not stopping until I find him.”

Ray got in front of her and took her by the shoulders.

“That’s what he would do right?”

“Yes.”

“And you’d probably yell at him for it.” She sighed when he said that. She knew he was right.

“What do we do then?”

“We need to get to a safe-house that he doesn’t know about.”

“He knows about all of them. He was probably watching us for months before he came out of hiding.”

“I know who we can call.”

“Who?” Lindsay saw the semi-disgruntled face Ray was making, that gave it away. “Oh no.”

“Lindsay, the backup team are the only ones Ryan doesn’t know about.”

“I’m not gonna trust the B-Team to get my husband back.”

“Neither am I. We’re just gonna go there and get ourselves ready. We don’t even have to say why we’re there.”

Lindsay thought about it for a second. She sighed again.

“Call Kerry.” she said, one hand on her hip.

Ray pulled out his phone and dialed the number. Kerry picked up quickly.

“ _Ray! What’s up man?_ ”

“Where are you guys?”

“ _At the house. Alfredo and I have been training with each other a-_ ”

“Give me the GPS, me and Lindsay are gonna be there soon. How stocked up are you on-”

“ _Oh my God! Guys, guys, Ray and Lindsay are coming!_ ”

Ray was getting restless with Kerry. He didn’t like B-Team that much himself, they just weren’t as experienced as they were. Geoff insisted that new blood would ensure their legacy or some such nonsense.

“Kerry, I-”

“ _That’s not what I meant, Caleb, she’s married. Jeez._ ”

“Kerry!” Ray yelled into the phone. His anger has been building up since yesterday. “I don’t have time for this. How stocked up are you?”

“ _Uhh...hold on._ ” Kerry left for a moment. “ _Lots of guns, ammo, small army’s worth of explosives._ ”

“We’re on our way.”

Ray hung up and went back to Lindsay.

“They’re ready. We should get going.”

“I’ll call for one of my cars.”

Ray and Lindsay drove to B-Team’s hideout in one of Lindsay’s cars. The house was north of the city, somewhere in Blaine County. Geoff figured they couldn’t do too much damage from all the way up there.

“This is it?” Ray asked as he pulled into the dirt driveway. “I really wasn’t missing out on anything, was I?”

“I only came here to train them because Geoff thought they could be useful eventually.”

They Ray honked the horn twice, then one long honk, the codeword for the safe-house. He got out of the car and walked towards the house.

“Was that all he cared about? How useful we were to him.”

“No, Ray. He cared about us.”

“One of us. Kerry! Caleb! Open up, it’s Ray!”

There was a commotion in the house. People were talking over each other and bumping into walls. Multiple locks on the door opened and Kerry was standing in the door.

“Ray! Lindsay!”

They ignored him and walked into the house, past Caleb and Kdin too. Lindsay led Ray to the room they used as an armory. Ray walked in and Lindsay stopped before she followed him.

“Nobody in, nobody out. Don’t bother us.” She shut the door behind her and left B-Team befuddled. Caleb turned to Kerry..

“You said she was married, right?”

“Shut up, Caleb.”

Lindsay and Ray went through the room picking out the guns they’re best with. All the guns were color-coded, and that confused Ray.

“What’s with the colors?”

“It’s for rarity. Different colors represent how many of each gun we have.”

Ray looked through the sniper rifles and found a pink one. It was the only one.

“Pink?”

“That’s the only one of those we have.”

Ray inspected the weapon.

“These modifications...you can’t get these at an Ammu-Nation.”

“That’s the only one of those snipers that exists. Caleb had it made for when he got good.”

“If he got good.” Ray looked over the weapon some more. “I’ll take it.”

“How’s your gunshot?”

In the pause between words, Ray heard the door open. Without a look at Lindsay Ray ran out into the house. He saw everyone gathered around the door.

“Matt, move. What’s going…”

It was Michael.

“Michael!”

“Ray.” he replied in a weak voice. As Ray ran to hug him he let out a groan. He was bleeding from his head and face and he had bruises on his arms. His hair looked like it was wet.

“Ray...Ryan, he...Gavin. Jack.”

“I know, man. I know.”

Ray let go and let Lindsay have her turn. She wasted no time, going right in for a kiss. Michael cut it off early though. Lindsay was confused.

“What’s wrong?”

“Get down.” he whispered.

“Get do-”

Michael pushed Lindsay to the floor. Ray went to her.

“Michael, what the-”

Before he could finish, Michael pulled out his gun and shot Caleb. Then Kerry. Jeremy and Alfredo ran for the armory and Ray grabbed the gun from his hands.

“Let him go.”

It was Ryan. He was holding Lindsay with a gun to her head. Ray let him go and put his hands up.

“Michael,” Ryan said, “please go kill Alfredo and Jeremy.”

Michael looked at Ray and Lindsay. They both nodded no, mouthing the same thing. He looked at Ray again.

“He has Lindsay. I need to keep her safe.”

Michael slowly walked into the armory.

“Ryan, what-”

“I came to Michael about a week ago. Showed up in his apartment, gun on you as you slept.” He said to Lindsay. “I told him he had to help me or else you were done for. Of course, I had to let him think you were still in danger, buy me some time if anything else”

Two shots came from the armory.

“Ah” Ryan said, “the deed is done.” 

Michael walked out, tears in his eyes. He dropped the gun and fell to his knees. Ryan just laughed as he held Lindsay by the arm. Ray turned to Ryan with a pleading look.

“Ok, I did what you wanted, let her go now.”

“Oh, I’m sorry.” Ryan pulled Lindsay closer to him. “I don’t remember that being part of the deal.” He laughed again. Michael looked up at him, his face red. He grabbed his gun and lunged for him. But Ryan jammed his gun into the side of Lindsay’s head.

“Hold it!”

Michael stopped. Ray wasn’t moving.

“We’re gonna settle this tonight. Somewhere dramatic. How about...top of Maze Bank tower. Come alone at 11:30.”

Ryan started walking out the door.

“See you boys later.” Ryan slammed the door behind him. Ray and Michael knew if they followed him out he’d hurt Lindsay. They stood and watched as he threw Lindsay in a car and drove off.

“Michael…”

He ignored him and went back to the armory.

“Michael, wait…”

Ray followed him in and saw Jeremy and Alfredo, alive.

“Wha-”

“What Ryan doesn’t know…” Michael said, as he picked up a gun. He handed it to Jeremy. “...is gonna bite him in the ass.”

 

Before anybody started preparing for tonight, Jeremy and Kerry decided to bury their teammates. They did it in the backyard. It wasn’t much of a ceremony; they used cardboard boxes for coffins, not many words were said.  
Afterwards, Jeremy and Alfredo were ready to follow orders.

“What do we need to do?”

“You need to stay away from us, and from Ryan.” Ray said.

“Yeah. You two need to stay safe, and here isn’t it. Go find somewhere safe to hide out. When we’re done with Ryan we’ll come to you.”

Jeremy and Alfredo exchanged looks. They backed off.

“Where should we go?”

“Buy a plane ticket. Liberty City, we have contacts there that will keep you out of harm’s way until we finish.”

“What are you guys gonna do?”

“Get Lindsay back, find Ryan, turn him in.”

Michael gave Ray an angry look.

“What was that last part, Ray?”

“You heard me, we aren’t gonna kill him.”

Jeremy and Alfredo were already on their way out. Neither of them wanted to be there when Michael and Ray argued, especially when they were this emotional.

“Ray...you’re fucking kidding me, right?”

“Michael, listen-”

“No Ray. What’s wrong with you? He killed us, one by one he wants to kill all of us and you don’t think we should return the favor?”

“We wouldn’t be any better than him.”

“Bullshit! He killed us because he wanted to. We would be...I dunno, avenging the people he killed.”

“Well I’m trying to be a good person!”

“How’s that working out for you, BrownMan?”

Ray jumped on top of Michael, tackling him to the ground. He punched him once in the face before Michael threw him off, into a wall. Ray got back up and punched again. Michael dodged it and slammed Ray into the wall again. Ray fell to the floor, breathing heavily.

“Ray...we have to make sure he can’t come back. He have to make sure whoever’s left is safe.”

Ray tried to stand himself up. Michael helped him. Ray nodded, still unable to speak because he was catching his breath.

“Just...don’t...don’t call me BrownMan…”

Ray and Michael then headed off for the city. They needed to visit a few Ammu-Nations to stock up. All the while, Ryan was already at the top of the Maze Bank tower, with Lindsay as a captive. He stood at the edge of the building with binoculars, watching for Ray or Michael. Lindsay was tied to a railing on the opposite edge, handcuffed twice to the metal bars. His mask was laid out next to her, eerily staring at her.

“Your husband can be very…”

“You shut the fuck up, you stupid piece of shit.”

Ryan was taken quite aback by her sudden outburst.

“...emotional. You two go great together.”

Lindsay was trying to slide her wrists out of the handcuffs. They were too small, she couldn’t get out.

“I wonder how much danger I need to put you in for him to...act irrationally. Like he did with the...B-Team, he called them?”

“What are you talking about.”

Ryan clipped the binoculars to his belt. He walked over to Lindsay and knelt down beside her.

“Michael and Ray...they’ve been friends a long time. It would be such a tragic story for a beautiful friendship like theirs to be ended so violently.”

Lindsay gasped as Ryan stood back up. He walked back to watch the city. Lindsay kept calm, though.

“He would never do that. Not Ray.”

“Why not? He already shot people who thought we could trust them. Geoff tried to kill me. Killing friends- oh, I’m sorry- killing family...seems to be a theme around here. I’m just here to keep the tradition going.”

Ryan walked back over to Lindsay and picked up his mask. He put it on and covered her mouth with duct tape. It wasn’t easy, with Lindsay fighting back the entire time.

“The sun’s going down. They’ll be here soon. Then we’ll see how strong your husband really is.”

 

Ray and Michael had no idea what Ryan had in store for them. They brought all of their weapons to an alley, nearby the Maze tower. They laid everything out and decided who gets what.

“What happened to Mogar?”

“It was in the helicopter that crashed. If it isn’t busted, the police have it by now. I’ll take this one.” he said as he picked up a heavy machine gun.

Ray picked up the pink sniper rifle from the B-Team hideout.

“Sniper’s no good. We’ll be too close.”

“And there’s no building to get a shot from. If only…”

“What if I take a helicopter?”

Ray and Michael both turned around, ready to fire. It was Jeremy.

“Jesus, Jeremy. You almost got shot, don’t sneak up on us like that.”

“What did you say, Jeremy?” Ray asked.

“A helicopter. I’ll fly around the building with you in the back, we’ll have an extra angle.”

Ray and Michael traded looks.

“Where’s Alfredo?”

“On his way to Liberty City.”

“And you stayed to help us?”

“Yes I did.”

Michael and Ray turned around and whispered to each other, asking about the plan with Jeremy.

“Do you think we should do it?”

“I don’t know, I wouldn’t be a very good shot from a moving chopper.”

Michael didn’t say anything until he had an idea. He told Ray about it and Ray agreed.

“Jeremy, we’ve decided against your plan.”

“Ray, look…”

“Listen, Jeremy, we have another idea. One that will probably work better.”

Ray motioned for Michael to go and tell him. While he did that, Ray looked over the pink sniper rifle that was in the trunk of the car. He decided he was going to keep it, regardless of whether or not he would use it.

It looks good.

Michael had just finished telling Jeremy what to do.

“Michael, are you sure about this?”

“Yes. We both are. Now get to the airport, as fast as you can. Go!”

Jeremy ran into the street and hijacked a car. The woman that was thrown from the car yelled at Ray and Michael.

“Did neither of you see that?”

They both turned around with guns in their hands.

“See what?”

The woman turned around and walked away.

“Y’know what, I didn’t like that car anyway.”

 

Ray and Michael finished up the preparation. They put on body armor under their clothes and kept their weapons strapped to their backs. They decided that the best way to get to Ryan was through the building. Not long after nightfall, they started on the building. They ran in the front doors and started shooting at the ceiling.

“Everyone get down, this is a robbery!”

“Ray, they _know_ this is a robbery. It’s not a fuckin’ pizza delivery.”

“I know, it’s just fun to say.”

“Admit it, you miss heisting.”

“Let’s just go.”

Ray ran past a teller on his way to the stairs. He had his hands up and was against the wall.

“Oh, no.” Ray said in an overly-dramatic tone. “A teller. I sure hope he doesn’t pull the alarm and alert the police.”

The teller was just confused by Ray.

“Ray, what are you doing?”

“Just go Michael.”

The teller still hadn’t moved.

“The alarm.” Still nothing. “You...you have an alarm, right? This is a bank.” Still no response from the teller. “Jesus Chri- pull the damn alarm!” Ray yelled at the man.

“Why do you want me to pull the alarm?”

“Just fucking do it already!” he shouted, pointing his gun at the teller.

The man slowly reached for the alarm and pulled it, then backed up quickly against the wall again.

“Took you long enough.”

Ray ran up the stairs, catching up to Michael.

“Why are we taking the stairs?”

“Cops can shut down the elevators. We have to be up there by the time they get here.”

“They’re already on the way?”

Michael stopped and Ray kept going.

“Ray, wait!”

“What?”

“Did you let them call the cops already?”

“Yeah, so we should go.”

“Why?”

Ray stopped before he answered.

“In case we don’t get him. He has nowhere to go.”

Michael went over to Ray and put his hand on Ray’s shoulder.

“We’re going to get him.”

Ray, having been consoled, was much calmer. They heard sirens pulling up to the building.

“Let’s go.”

Ryan heard the sirens too. He was set up on top of the building, ready for anything. Anything except the entire LSPD.

“The boys are either getting sloppy...or getting smart. Either way, it’ll be over tonight.”

Lindsay tried to say “Damn right it is” through the tape, but it was just mumbling.

Not a moment later, Michael and Ray burst through the doors to the roof. They ran up to the helipad where Ryan was.

“Took you boys long enough.” Ryan said, not facing them yet. “And you brought guests, how lovely!”

Ray and Michael saw Lindsay tied up, Ryan turning to see them, and police helicopters.

“I hope you three realize…” Ryan pulled out two flare guns and fired them both, alerting the police to their position. “...none of us are making it off this roof.”


	6. God's Gonna Cut You Down

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nobody expected it to end this way, and nobody knows who's walking away from this. Los Santos will never be the same.

Police helicopters started swarming the building, not firing yet. One of the pilots radioed the sergeant.

“Sarge, we’re opening fire.”

“Negative.”

“I’m sorry?”

The sergeant was in another chopper, watching the rooftop. He recognized the men on the roof from a police ambush from about a year ago.

“I wanna see how this ends.”

Ray and Michael both had their attention switching between the cops and Ryan.

“Boys, come on. If they wanted to kill us they would’ve gotten it over with.”

“Oh yeah?” Michael said. “Could say the same about you.”

Ryan walked towards the boys and they diverted their attention to Ryan and Ryan only.

“Very perceptive. Now put down your guns, will you?”

“Why would we-”

Ryan pulled out an all-too-familiar detonator. They boys dropped their guns, they had no idea what Ryan’s bombs were rigged to.

“Now, that’s better. Here’s what’s gonna happen.” he said as he walked back over to Lindsay. “This detonator is not for a bomb. It’s for this.” Ryan pulled up Lindsay’s sleeve and showed them a phone-sized device attached to her arm.

“What the hell is that?”

“I think he’s gonna tell us, Ray.”

“Another point for team lads! This will inject her with a neurotoxin, killing her in less than a minute.”

Michael was twitchy and anxious. The police helicopters and bright spotlights weren’t helping either.

“I will give one of you this trigger…”

The boys waited for him to finish, minds running wild with the possibilities of the inevitable ‘if’.

“If one of you shoots the other.”

Ray was about to give a clever rebuttal when he heard Michael readying his machine gun. Ray slowly turned to his friend in shock as Ryan smiled under his mask.

“Michael…”

“Do I even have to say it, man?”

Ray looked at Lindsay off to the side. Ray shook his head to say no.

“Michael, I understand.”

“Ray,” Michael said, with a lump in his throat, “before I do this, I want...I want you to say it.”

“Are you sure?” Ryan was intrigued by this new development. He would normally have interrupted but he was hooked. “Is this really the right time, Michael?”

“Yes, Ray. I’ve never been so sure of anything. Please, just say it.”

Ray sighed and grabbed the barrel of Michael’s gun and moved it to his head. And with what he expected to be his last breath, he let the words pour out of him. The three words that he never really wanted to say, but knew he would eventually have to.

“I...I’m going cakeless.”

“Wait, what the fuck?” Ryan said. “What the- cakeless? What does that even fucking mean?”

Michael moved the gun away from Ray’s head as he wiped his fake tears from his eyes.

“Oh, nothing really. A bit of an inside joke you missed out on while you were gone. But here, it’s a signal.”

Ryan drew his gun as he looked around at the skies.

“Ok, I’ll bite. What are you-”

Before he could finish, one of the police choppers exploded. With Ryan distracted, Ray tackled Ryan down and knocked the trigger away from him. As they wrestled, Michael ran for Lindsay. Another chopper exploded as he ran.

“Lindsay! Hold on!” Michael took off the tape and shot off the handcuffs.

“What the hell is going on?”

“It’s Jeremy!”

“ _Damn right!_ ”

Jeremy hijacked a Buzzard attack chopper and started taking down police choppers. One of them landed on the roof, almost crushing Ray and Ryan.

“Ryan, stop this. I don’t want to have to let Michael kill you!”

Ryan threw Ray off of him and held him down by the throat.

“That’s what makes you weak. You don’t want to finish the job. At least Geoff tried.”

Ray kicked Ryan’s legs, throwing him off balance enough to get free. Ray dodged another punch as he punched Ryan in the kidney. Ryan unsheathed his cavalry dagger and swiped towards Ray, catching him in the arm.

Michael ran for Ryan but he tripped him, almost throwing him off the roof.

“Michael!” Lindsay shouted as she ran to him. Ryan grabbed her by the arm and dragged her in front of him.

“You make it too easy Lindsay.”

“Oh, do I?” she said before reversing the hold and headbutting Ryan.

Ryan stepped back a few steps to reel back from the unexpected hit. Lindsay grabbed his wrist and twisted it to get him to drop the dagger, then throwing him to the ground.

“Now,” Lindsay said, cracking her knuckles, “let’s see how you’ve been holding up.”

Before they could fight, another helicopter crashed onto the roof, separating the two of them. Ryan used it for cover from the cops who had started opening fire. 

“Jeremy!” Michael shouted into his commlink he’d kept hidden. “Get Lindsay out of here!”

“ _You got it!_ ”

The chopper descended beside the landing platform, hovering a few feet from the edge of it. Lindsay ran and jumped into the chopper, and Jeremy continued his sweep of the police helicopters.

Ray and Michael hid behind the first crashed chopper. They could hear most of the choppers leaving, but one was landing. They looked out to see the sergeant stepping onto the roof.

“I gotta say, I don’t know who to root for here.” he said as officers behind him readied their weapons.

“ _Michael, it’s Jeremy. These choppers are blocking me from the roof, I can’t cover you guys._ ”

“Don’t worry about it, just get Lindsay out of here.”

“What’s wrong, your little buddy can’t show up to the party?”

Ryan stepped out of cover to shoot one of the cops and wounding another.

“Oh, please. You can stop now, there’s no reason to keep going.”

“Michael!” Ryan yelled. “Remember how we captured that congressman a few years back?”

Michael stopped and thought.

“What is he talking about?” Ray said.

“On your go, Ryan!”

Ryan stepped out and put his hands up.

“I surrender!”

“What’s going on?”

“Ray, stay here.”

Michael stepped out and did the same. Ryan and Michael both stood in front of the helicopter. They both had their eyes on the pilot.

“Ok Ray, come on out!”

“Stay on guard, men.” The sergeant yelled out as Ray came out of hiding unarmed. “This is a trap.”

“We’ll just get in the chopper now.” Ryan said as they headed into the back seats of the chopper. The sergeant let them, figuring that they couldn’t be pulling anything at this point.

“Ok,” the sergeant said after everyone was inside, “let’s take off.”

“Ok, hold on!” the pilot yelled as the chopper took off quickly.

“Whoa, watch it!”

“Left.”

“Wha-”

The pilot threw the helicopter to the left, throwing the unbuckled cops out as Ryan and Michael held on to the chopper and Ray held on to Michael. The sergeant wasn’t out though, and he opened fire on the controls before Ryan kicked him out the door.

“Fuck, I can’t fly this.” Alfredo yelled from the cockpit.

“ 'Fredo?”

“Fuck yeah, man! But we need to get out of here before this chopper breaks down.”

The chopper wasn’t gonna last and Ray could see that. He pulled out his phone and started typing while the chopper was still steady. When he finished typing he slid the phone into Ryan’s pocket, he was the closest.

“Michael, Alfredo,” Ray yelled as alarms started going off, “remember how Gav and Jack died?”

They looked at each other and understood. They grabbed parachutes and went to push Ray and Ryan out but Ray pushed them both out before they could.

“Ray, what are you doing?” Ryan yelled. He went for the controls but Ray stopped him.

“Ryan, look at me.” Ryan turned his head. “Look at me.”

Ryan calmly took off his mask and looked at Ray.

“I never fit into this life. You did.”

“Ray, no.”

Ray pushed Ryan out with a parachute and sat in the front seat. He tried to guide the chopper away from any populated areas. He left it on a course towards a large empty courtyard.

Ryan strapped on the parachute and opened it, jerking him violently. He watched the smoking chopper twirl down into the ground. He watched as it crashed in a fireball that lit up the streets. Ryan watched as Ray died.

Ryan watched in shock. Not an hour ago he would have rejoiced at this sight. But now, he held his head in shame. He watched the ground get closer to him, not worrying about landing safely. When he touched down a block away from the crash site, he ran as soon as he got the parachute off.

Firefighters were already at the scene. Police officers too, he couldn’t get close. He used his binoculars, still hooked onto his belt, to look at the crash. He saw the fire that wasn’t going out despite the fire hoses. He saw the helicopters rotor still spinning slowly, as if it was trying in vain to take off again. He could even make out his old mask, melting into the bright orange and blue flames.

Then he saw the worst sight of all, a torn up purple hoodie, hanging out the windshield of the chopper, burning brighter than the metal around it.

His only reaction was to stare at it. Just look at it as if he would pop up and grab it. He never did. And that’s when he truly came to the realization of what he did. What he became. He was a monster. A wild animal without a cage. A mad king who let his power consume him. He hated himself as much as Michael had hated him. He fell to his knees and dropped the binoculars, the dim light of the distant fire silhouetting his slumped over shape. Then he heard something else fall. It was the phone Ray left.

“Ray…”

He opened the phone and saw what he wrote. It was a message for Michael.

 

**Hey Michael, it’s Ray. This is probably the last you’ll ever hear from me. I’m gonna miss you buddy. I need you to know one thing before I go. Ryan can be trusted. He was ready to sacrifice himself for you guys more times than I can remember. So if he decides to make it back to you hopefully he leads with this. And Ryan, I’ll tell Geoff you said hi.**

 

Ryan was in tears by the time he was finished reading. He didn’t plan on going back to Michael, though. Not after what he put him through. He found Michael at one of his personal houses, he left his GPS on. He got all the way to the door of his room. He could hear him arguing with Lindsay and Matt on whether or not they should go back for Ray. He set the phone down on the floor outside the door and started walking away when Jeremy flung the door open.

“See, I told you I heard footsteps!”

Michael stepped out into the hallway. He saw Ryan alone.

“Ray. Where is he?”

Ryan looked at the phone on the floor in front of him. He went for it when Michael pushed him back.

“I asked you a question, where’s Ray?”

“He...we were going down...he wanted me to look at him...this phone, he…”

Michael grabbed Ryan by the shirt and slammed him against the wall.

“Where is Ray!?”

“He didn’t make it!”

Michael knew from the beginning, but he needed to be sure. He saw the look in Ryan’s eyes, sad and regretful. He was still looking at the phone.

“He left a message for you. Before he…”

Michael let go of Ryan and picked up the phone. He walked back into the room to read it as other people in the building came out to see what the commotion was. Jeremy brought Ryan inside with some excuse about method acting. By the time Ryan was in the room Michael was in tears, holding Lindsay.

Ryan walked to Michael and sat down next to him. Michael sat up and faced him. Not an hour ago, Michael would’ve killed Ryan on the spot. But Ray wouldn’t want him to.

“Ray...trusted you. The last thing he did was trust you.”

Ryan wasn’t looking Michael in the eye. He didn’t think he could, but Michael put his hand on Ryan’s shoulder, making Ryan look up.

“I think that counts for something.”

Ryan and Michael forgave each other on the spot. They sat and looked out into the city for a few seconds. Until Lindsay stood in front of them, pacing the floor.

“That leaves one question still unanswered.” The guys all looked up at her. “What’s gonna happen to the crew?”

Michael stood up, a look of confidence about him.

“We’ll start over. We’ll work our way back up the most wanted list. We took over this city once, we can do it again.” He turned to face Lindsay. “And I’m pretty sure we all know who the leader should be.”

Lindsay looked around the room, the guys were ecstatic. She nodded.

“I think I can do that.”

Lindsay walked over to Ryan, still sitting down.

“I want you to understand something. We trust you...we don’t forgive you. That will take some time.”

“I’m willing to work for it. For Ray.”

Jeremy and Michael were off on the side talking about something Ryan couldn’t hear. Lindsay was making herself a drink in the kitchen.

“So...boss...how soon do you think until we’re back in action?”

Lindsay took a sip of her drink and sat down next to Ryan.

“Oh, I’ve got plans. I’ve been making plans since the first time I saw you guys heist, since before I was even a member!”

“Ooh, sounds exciting. Lemme hear one.”

Lindsay spent the rest of the night telling Ryan about her plans. All the exciting details, when and where things would happen. She even walked him through what she thinks would happen. Soon she was telling the entire group, they sat around her like kindergarteners around the teacher at story time.

Ryan looked around at his new crew. This was going to be his new life, his new family. He liked what he saw. It would take less time than they thought to rise through the criminal ranks of Los Santos again. To nobody’s surprise, Lindsay’s plans were exponentially better than Geoff’s, and they already had a reputation behind them.

Everywhere they went, they heard people talking about them. Stories became rumors that turned into legends. About how Mogar could kill 100 cops in a second. How Lindsay has ten plans for each job. Jeremy’s story of going from B-Team to second in command was the Cinderella story of criminals.

Ryan’s rumors were darker to say the least. About how his mask became his face. How he came back from hell to kill his old team. Stories of the Mad King of Crime became the boogeyman tales for cops and crooks alike. Ryan soon learned to embrace his newfound identity. He used people’s fear of him against him. Hell, most of Lindsay’s plans depended on Ryan being scary. In less than a year they were heisting, racing, anything they wanted to do they did. They were a whole new crew. And no aspiring criminal or crooked cop would ever forget them.


	7. Prologue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Fakes are up to their old tricks again. More so than they think.

“Okay, who's fucking idea was this!?” Michael yelled as he and Ryan drove out of the gates of Fort Zancudo. Two jeeps were tailing them.

“Ryan, the jeeps!”

“I got ‘em!” he yelled back as he tossed a grenade. The closest jeep exploded and caused the second one to crash.

“Okay, we’re clear. Jeremy, you’re up.”

“ _On my way, boys._ ”

Michael and Ryan ditched the stolen jeep and ran into the mountains. Jeremy flew over with a cargobob carrying Michael’s bifta. He dropped it and Michael and Ryan got in.

“Are you sure this thing will lose them?”

“Shut up, Ryan. We’ll be fine.”

Just then, they were surrounded by military jeeps. Ryan was giving Michael a look through his mask. Jeremy picked the car back up before the gunfire started. They were flying towards the city now, hoping to make it back in one piece.

“ _Michael, it’s Lindsay. Did you get the chip?_ ”

Michael looks to Ryan who pulls the microchip out of a bag he’s carrying.

“Yeah, we got the chip! Where are we meeting up?”

“ _Parking garage at the airport. Is Jeremy on his way?_ ”

“Actually,” Ryan added, “he’s carrying us there.”

“ _What?_ ”

“There was an incident involving some bad decisions but we don’t think it was anybody’s fault, right Michael?”

With no response from Michael, the plan moved forward. A police helicopter was getting close to Jeremy.

“ _Guys, take care of him._ ”

Before anyone could do anything, the chopper crashed into the cargobob.

“Agh fuck! Everyone bail!”

Everyone bailed before both choppers exploded.

“That was so fucking cool!” Michael yelled as he fell. All three of the guys pulled their chutes at the same time. Everything was still going relatively well. Until, that is, Ryan heard bullets whizzing past him. He looked down and saw that there were snipers on the ground from the military base.

“Snipers! Watch out!”

Everyone started strafing and dodging bullets. Ryan’s chute got hit, causing him to fall faster and separate from the group.

“Don’t worry guys, I’ll find a way back to base. Don’t wait up.”

Ryan landed in someone’s backyard in Mirror Park. He took the chute off and snuck his way in the house, watching for anyone inside. As he entered the living room he saw a woman sitting on her couch. She saw him and screamed, forcing Ryan to pull a gun on her.

“Now, now...we don’t want this to turn ugly now, do we?”

“Speak for yourself.” a voice from behind him said before tackling him to the ground.

As Ryan wrestled with the man for the gun, the man yelled “Tina, run!” The man grabbed Ryan’s arm and twisted the gun free. He stood up and pointed it at him. Ryan stood up with his hands in the air.

“Do you know who I am?” Ryan asked, hoping to intimidate the man into submission.

“Of course I do. The Mad King of Crime...whatever.”

Ryan went into shock at the sound of the man’s sarcastic tone. That’s all he needed to give it away.

“No.”

“What?” the man replied.

“It isn’t you.” Ryan turned and put his hands down. He took off his mask and saw a face he hasn’t seen in over a year. An old friend’s face.

“I honestly think Ryan the Crazy Guy is a better name.” Ray said, before setting the gun on the table.

Ryan dropped his mask on the floor. His scars had healed some in the time since he last saw Ray.

“But...you died.”

“Oh, fuck you. You don’t get to say that.”

They both laughed and hugged.

“You’re alive!”

“I’m more surprised you’re alive. Still doing the old jobs...what was it today?”

“Zancudo.” Ray’s expression was priceless. “I know right? Lindsay’s in charge now so things run a lot more smoothly.”

Tina came back from the bedroom, confused at what she was seeing.

“So are you just gonna make friends with the home invader?”

“Tina, this is Ryan, and old friend of mine...also a crime lord, but that’s beside the point. Ryan, Tina. My girlfriend.”

“Girlfriend, huh? Looks like I owe Jeremy some money.”

Ray laughed. Tina too, but more out of nervousness, seeing as a criminal legend is best friends with her boyfriend.

“Why didn’t you come back after the crash?”

“Ah, well...heists, robberies...life of crime just wasn’t for me.”

“Oh yes, the life of coasters and video games is much more exciting.”

 

“How’s Michael? He over me yet?”

“Probably. But he’d love to see you.”

“Sorry, can’t happen. We need as little connections to you as possible.”

Ryan didn’t think of that.

“Speaking of which, you should probably get back to whoever you’re stealing from.”

“Sure thing. I’ll see you later!”

As Ryan ran out of the house and stole Ray’s neighbor’s car, Tina ran to Ray and grabbed his arm.

“So...that’s the Ryan? The one that keeps showing up on the news?”

“Yeah. He did some pretty fucked up stuff...but I got over it.”

Ray went to sit back down and drank some water. Tina sat next to him, still very much confused at whatever had just happened.

"So you're good friends?"

"Yes. Yes we are."

Tina laid her head on Ray's shoulder. 

"Do you think you will see him later?"

"Oh hell no. We're moving in with your parents, pack up."

Ray and Tina spent the next week at Tina's parents' house. They moved to a house in Paleto Bay, never saw Ryan or the crew again, and lived...happily ever after.


End file.
